Question

A telephone long distance carrier charges customers $0.99 for the first 30 minutes and then $0.04 for each minute beyond 30 minutes. If Mary uses this carrier, how long can she talk for $6.00?

Answer 1

The total that Mary has initially is:

$6.00

Since the first 30 minutes cost $0.99, after those 30 minutes she will have:

$6.00 - $0.99 = $5.01

So far she has talked for 30 minutes but has $5.01 left.

After 30 minutes, the cost per minute is $0.04. To find the number of minutes that she can talk with those $0.04, we divide 5.01 by 0.04:

`(5.01)/(0.04)=125.25`

Using the remaining amount she can talk for 125.25 minutes more.

Thus, the total of minutes is:

`30+125.25=155.25`

Answer: She can talk for 155.25 minutes.